This invention relates in general to tethers and supports for flexible cables and conduits. More specifically, but without restriction to the particular use which is shown and described, this invention relates to a tether support utilized to control the movement of relatively large, flexible, high-pressure hydraulic hoses, air lines, and electrical conduits or cables which extend between articulated or pivotal portions of a vehicle.
Many large vehicles, especially construction machinery and earth-moving equipment, have structural portions which are relatively pivotal and require high-pressure hydraulic hoses, air lines and electrical conduits or cables to extend between the articulated portions so that a machine operator can control various functions associated with the vehicle or auxiliary and accessory equipment. Since in use portions of the accessory equipment associated with these vehicles are extensively angulated, for functional operations, the vehicle and the auxiliary or accessory equipment are connected by high-pressure hydraulic hoses, electrical cables and air lines which must be configured in a large loop or coil in order to accommodate such angular or pivotal movement without undue hose and cable wear or damage.
The high-pressure hydraulic hoses and cables that are used are highly flexible and, therefore, it is necessary to control the movement of these loops or coils in order to prevent damage caused by stresses due to twisting or tangling and abrasion due to their exposure in close proximity to moving parts. Because of the large sizes of the high-pressure hydraulic hoses, the number of the various electrical cables and air hoses, and the flexible characteristics necessitated in order to accommodate the angular movement between the accessory equipment and the vehicle, these loops are subjected to induced dynamic forces during machine operation which can result in damage to their structural integrity, especially in the area of their connection to couplings where sharp bending can lead to failure. Therefore, it is important to constrain the high-pressure hydraulic hose loops and to control the movement of the various flexible conduits and air hoses which are required to couple the controls on the vehicle with the controlled actuators or the auxiliary and accessory equipment.
Since such high-pressure hydraulic hoses and the other conduits and cables are necessitated to be formed in a large loop, lateral movement in a direction normal to the plane of the loop would cause twisting and possible failure of the hydraulic hose and/or cable members. In addition, radial and axial expansion and contraction of the hydraulic hoses as they respond to internal pressure changes creates additional problems in constraining such hose loops. The hoses and cables must be tethered and supported, but the tether system must not grip the hoses in a manner which could cause localized stresses. The loop must be tethered against undesired lateral movement and must prevent the hydraulic hoses and cables from falling into adjacent moving parts and impacting or abrading against machine parts.
Various attempt have been made to provide a suitable support tether for large loops of control lines such as those set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 3,872,881 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,882,886, which disclose tether systems for control lines extending between portions of an articulated vehicle or pivotally supported vehicle equipment. In the first referenced patent the tether comprises a pair of shallow U-shaped brackets releasably joined at their open ends to form a cage about the flexible conduits. The cage, which may also utilize a solid insert to secure the flexible conduits, is joined to a steel band which extends between anchor points on the vehicle. In the latter referenced patent a non-metallic, flexible support band extends between anchor points on the vehicle. A plurality of flexible straps are secured to the support band to bundle the flexible conduits thereupon.